Isaacs, Susan, (Compromising Positions [hc, Viking, 1978]) 978-0713911763 [mass mkt pb, Jove, 1985] 978-0515080896 [Features Judith Singer, a smart and bored Jewish housewife on Long Island who becomes an amateur detective.]
United States · Fiction author
Susan Isaacs
Susan Isaacs (born 1943, Brooklyn, NY) – Her work is deeply rooted in Jewish-American identity, often exploring the experiences of assimilated Jewish characters. Having grown up in a secular but culturally Jewish Brooklyn household, she weaves this background into her novels through humor, character origins, and historical settings.
Key Jewish elements in her books include:
Jewish Protagonists: Many of her lead characters are Jewish women, such as Judith Singer in Compromising Positions (a Long Island Jewish housewife turned sleuth) and Linda Voss in Shining Through (a half-Jewish secretary during WWII).
Cultural Assimilation & Identity: Her stories often focus on “assimilated characters seeking Jewishness in the secular world”. For instance, Shining Through follows a character who must navigate her hidden Jewish identity while working as a spy in Nazi Germany.
Jewish Humor and Sensibility: Critics frequently note her “suburban New York Jewish” wit and style, described as “salted with earthy humor” and “sardonic insights”.
Family Sagas and History: Books like Red, White and Blue chronicle multiple generations of a Jewish family, while Almost Paradise features a half-Jewish protagonist and explores the friction between different cultural backgrounds.
Community Involvement: Isaacs’ personal connection to Judaism extends to her professional life; she has served on the board of the Jewish Theological Seminary and is frequently featured by the Jewish Book Council. [Google/AI]
Isaacs, Susan, (Close Relations [hc, Ty Crowell,1980]) 978-0690019407 [pb, HarperTorch, 1992] 978-0061099472 [Follows Marcia Green, a speechwriter involved in New York Democratic politics, set against a background of ethnic and Jewish family dynamics.]
Isaacs, Susan, (Shining Through [hc, Harper & Row, 1988]) 978-0060159795 [pb, Ballantine Books, 1992] 978-0345358035 [See related film] [Tells the story of Linda Voss, a German-Jewish secretary in 1940s New York who becomes a spy in Nazi Germany during World War II. See entry on the movie version in the companion list of movies, films and TV series.]
Isaacs, Susan, (After All These Years [hc, HarperCollins, 1993]) 978-006016768 [pb, Perennial, 2004] 978-0060563738 [The protagonist, Rosie Meyers, is a Jewish woman from Long Island whose life is upended when her husband leaves her and is then found murdered]
Isaacs, Susan, (Long Time No See [hc, Harper, 2001]) 978-0060195700 [pb, HarperCollins, 2002] 978-0007130351 [The sequel to Compromising Positions, continuing the story of Judith Singer, now a history professor and widow.]
Isaacs, Susan, (As Husbands Go [hc, Scribner, 2010]) 978-1416573012 [pb, Scribner, 2011] 978-1416573081 [Features Susie B. Anthony Rabinowitz Gersten, whose life is thrown into chaos after the death of her husband, a prominent plastic surgeon.]
Isaacs, Susan, (Goldberg Variations [hc, Scribner, 2012]) 978-1451605914 [pb, Scribner, 2013] 978-1451605921 [Centers on Gloria Garrison (née Goldberg), a wealthy and demanding matriarch who brings her grandchildren together to decide who will inherit her fortune.]
Isaacs, Susan, (Takes One to Know One [hc, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2019]) 978-0802147554 [pb, Grove Press, 2020] 978-0802149411 [Introduces Corie Geller, a Jewish former FBI agent living in the Long Island suburbs who starts investigating her neighbor.]
Isaacs, Susan, (Bad, Bad Seymour Brown [hc, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2023]) 978-0802159069 [pb, Grove Press, 2024] 978-0802163349 [Continues the Corie Geller series, focusing on her and her retired NYPD detective father as they solve a cold case.]